Men's Volleyball | 1/8/2026 10:00:00 AM
Friday, January 9 | BYU | Provo, Utah | Smith Fieldhouse | 9 p.m. | WATCH LIVE
Saturday, January 10 | BYU | Provo, Utah | Smith Fieldhouse | 9 p.m. | WATCH LIVE
OPENING SERVE VS BYU
Saint Francis and BYU will have their fourth meeting of all time during the opening weekend. These two teams faced each other once in 2010 when the Cougars won 3-1 and then in 2019 during a BYU sweep of the Red Flash. In 2019, Saint Francis finished the year with a 15-14 record, including a 3-2 win against #14 Ohio State.
THE WORD ON THE COUGARS
The Cougars are opening up their 2026 campaign after ending their 2025 season 19-10. BYU finished conference play with a 7-5 record after a close loss to Stanford in the MPSF Quarterfinals. Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga is one of the key returners for the Cougars standing at 6'5" to grab 194 kills as an outside hitter. The junior had 134 digs, 40 blocks, and 25 aces to end the 2025 season. The second key player is BYU's setter, Tyler Herget. Herget, the senior, assisted in the scoring by dishing out 818 assists.
PRESEASON POLL
Saint Francis men's volleyball was picked to tie first in the NEC Preseason Poll. Daemen earned three first-place votes while the Red Flash claimed two. LIU and FDU both took a first-place nod to finish in third and fourth. Following behind, the newly added teams, Manhattan and UMES finish fifth and sixth. Rounding out the poll was D'Youville in seventh.
NEXT TIME OUT
The men's team travels down to Kentucky to face Northern Kentucky on January 16 and 17.
RETURNERS TO TALK ABOUT
Brady Stump returns as one of the team's top leaders in kills (266), digs (99), blocks (40), and aces (25). During the 2025 campaign, the All-NEC first team outside hitter was seventh in kills per set, eighth in points per set, and 10th in hitting percentage in the NEC.
Sam Lane also registered 135 kills and 65 blocks, coming in eighth in blocks per set in 2025. He was named to the All-NEC second team due to his dominant blocking abilities. Lane registered a season high of five blocks against Erskine back in April.
Kyle Charles returns to collect more assists as he paced assists per set (9.97) in the NEC. He was announced as the NEC Rookie of the Year and All-NEC first team in 2025. The sophomore racked up three double double and had a season best of 62 assists versus Dominican. Charles collected 887 assists, 106 digs, 46 blocks, and 43 kills.
Back as a graduate student, Richard Kaminski continues to look for digs in the backrow. The libero recorded 10+ digs seven times, accumulating 142 digs and 37 assists in the previous season with the Red Flash. Kaminski finished third in the NEC with total digs and seventh in digs per set.
Nathan Zini returns after a season ending injury to compete in the 2026 campaign. In 2024, the opposite hitter was named NEC Player of the Year, All-NEC first team, and AVCA All-American honorable mention. He registered 410 kills, 125 digs, 63 aces, and 31 blocks. His 63 aces were the most across both Division I and Division II men's volleyball.
WELCOME TO THE LO'
Eight freshman are looking for their collegiate debut this weekend:
Gianluca Gomez (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Saint Joseph Metuchen),
Derek Piatek (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mars Area),
Tate Myatt (Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech),
Luke Colquette (Highlands ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista),
Alexander Owens (Tuscon, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic),
Nate Duff (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial),
Andre Pimienta (Los Angeles, Calif./Wisebum Da Vinci), and
Jack Wolgemuth (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest).
ABOUT THE COACH
Mike Rumbaugh enters is 28th season as the Saint Francis men's volleyball head coach in 2026. Rumbaugh is the second head coach in program history, after Gary Evangelisto, who guided the program for the first 15 years (1984-98). Rumbaugh was named the NEC Coach of the Year for the third-straight campaign. Prior to joining the NEC, Rumbaugh and the Red Flash was a member of the EIVA for the first 24 years as a head coach. Saint Francis registered a winning overall season 10 times during this stretch and participated in the EIVA Tournament 10 times, advancing to the EIVA Championship Game four times (2006, 2007, 2016, and 2017) and winning the EIVA Hay Division twice (2001, 2005). Rumbaugh arrived in Loretto in 1998 after serving a six-year term as an assistant coach with the men's and women's volleyball teams at Mercyhurst College. Rumbaugh is a certified official by the United States of America Volleyball Association. He has served as an instructor at USA High Performance and Regional High Performance Camps, and coached the USA Continental Youth Team against domestic and international opponents at the USA Select Competition.
